James l



(No Model.)

J. L. 0. KING.

TANK FEEDER.

No. 246,150. Patented Aug. 23,1881.

WITNESSES N. PETERS. PhnwLmwgnpher. wnhingian, D. C.

iran STATES PA'rEN Frise.

TANK-FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 246,150, dated August23, 1881.

Application filed June 4, 1881. (No model.)

To all' whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEsL. O. KING, of Hartwell, in the State ofGeorgia, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Tank-Feeders;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification,and to the letters and iigures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for pumping water tosupply stationtanks by the action of the locomotive while it is movingin or from the station; and it consists in the construction and novelarrangement of parts, as hereinafter set forth.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a plan view, andFig. 2 is alongitudinal central section, of a portion of track provided with myimprovement.

The letter a represents a section of a railroad-track, a a being therails, and b the ties. Secured to these ties, midway between the rails,are the guide-tracks c c, spaced apart, as shown at d. Theseguide-tracks are made of rails e, which project inwardly at the top,forming flanges g. Between these flanges g is the path It. The -sides eof these guidetracks are higher at their ends 7c by the space d than attheir other ends, l, which gives them a slope or incline in oppositedirections.

Seated in the path h, between the sides c of each track c, is aslider-carriage, m, having side grooves, into which the flanges g fit,the tlanges of the carriage bearing above and below those ot' the sides.Through these carriages are cut the perforations p, in which arejournaled the weighted gravity-catches q, having the beveled heads r,the bevels being toward the lower ends of the guide-tracks.

J ourn aled below the railroad-tracks a, across the space d, is a shaft,s, to which is aixed a drum, t. This drum is between and in line withthe guide-tracks c c, and from it run two chains, n, one being fastenedto each carriage m. The position ot' this shaft and its chains is suchthat when one chain is wound the other is unwound, and hence onecarriage is up near the shaft when the other is away from it. This shaftis connected to the pump by suitable mechanism, notnecessary to beshown.

To the under side of the locomotive, at some convenient point, islocated a nger rod or catch, having a similar position with relation tothe railroad-track as the catches q. As the locomotive passes over theguide-tracks c o this finger-rod, bearing against the straight edge ofthe catch q, drives the carriage down the incline, drawing on its chainn, and turning the shaft and operating the pump. At the same time thechain ot is wound up, and the other carriage is drawn up its inclineinto position for a locomotive coming the other way. As the rst carriagereaches the bottom of its incline the difference in level allows thefinger-rod to pass over the catch.

When the rod of a locomotive strikes a catch at the bottom of an inclinesaid rod, pushing on the lever, swings the catch and vpasses on. Thisdifference in the action of the catch is permitted by the shape of theperforations. These having their upper ends, c, curved from the bottomupward to the front and their lower ends, fw, curved from the topdownward to the rear, furnish abatements to the catches in one directionand allow free play in the other.

When a locomotive comes in a direction op posite to that in which thedevice is set it can pass the first carriage and then back untilsupplied with water, and in going forward again it would operate theother carriage and obtain more water, the loss of time in backing beingtrivial, as the device works very rapidly.

I amaware that it is not new to have a tank-feeder in which there are anoperating central sheave, guides arranged on each side th ereof, andcarriages upon such guides adapted to be operated by the moving trains,and I lay no claim to such a device.

Having described my device, what I claim 1s Two guide-tracks inclined inopposite directions, in combination with a transverse JAMES L. O. KING.

Witnesses:

THEO. MUNGEN, J AMES J. SHEEHY.

IOO

